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Activision Announces Call of Duty: Black Ops Call of the Dead

We definitely didn't see this one coming. Activision and Treyarch finally pulled the curtain back on the new Zombies level included in the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops map pack, Escalation, revealing an all-star cast of horror stars: George A. Romero, Robert Englund, Sara Michelle Gellar, Michael Rooker, and Danny Trejo.

In a press release announcing Call of the Dead, Treyarch said it set out to create a zombie experience gamers have never played before. The studio started by crafting a storyline inspired by iconic Night of the Living Dead writer/director Romero -- the Grandfather of the Zombie himself who will also star in the level.

"This is Treyarch's tribute to the legendary George Romero, who truly defined the zombie genre and whose incredible work has been such an inspiration to our team," Black Ops Director Dave Anthony said in a statement. "It was an absolute honor to work with such an amazing and talented cast whose passion and energy brought their characters instantly to life. Fans are going to love this."

Joining Romero in Call of the Dead are Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Englund (Freddy Krueger), Rooker (Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer), and Trejo (Machete). See what they, and you, will be doing in the grindhouse trailer below:

Escalation is set to launch on Xbox Live on May 3 for 1,200 Microsoft Points or $15. Activision has yet to announce when the map pack will make its way to the PlayStation 3 and PCs.

Sharkey says: I haven't even thought about touching Black Ops in months. Paying another $15 for Escalation was unthinkable mere moments ago. Now? I'm not so sure. It's gimmicky, it's ridiculous, it's way too expensive... and it sounds like a ton of fun. There's a great pulpy trailer for Call of the Dead as well. I'll post it in this article as soon as we get it up.